Berglandmilch Increases Investment in Animal Welfare and Sustainability with €33 Million Annually for Enhanced Animal Welfare Measures
Wels, June 2025 – Berglandmilch is setting an even stronger example for animal welfare and sustainability and will increase the milk price as of July 1, 2025—good news for 8,000 domestic dairy farmers. Their jointly owned company, the cooperative Berglandmilch, is raising the milk price starting July 1, with a strong focus on organic production, animal welfare, and sustainability.
In addition to a general increase in milk payments and a higher organic milk premium, farmers with particularly animal-friendly housing systems and husbandry practices will receive additional bonuses for their extra efforts. This so-called animal welfare bonus will be further increased from July 2025. The tiered bonus system takes into account especially animal-friendly housing as well as additional services such as pasture grazing, outdoor access, or alpine farming. In total, the animal welfare bonus generates more than €33 million in additional value annually for Berglandmilch farms.
Animal welfare is a key concern for Austrian consumers, as demonstrated by numerous surveys and market studies. For farmers, however, animal welfare also means investments and additional costs. The Berglandmilch animal welfare bonus helps farms implement the transition to animal-friendly and sustainable farming systems more quickly—because animal welfare is also important to Austrian farmers.
“We are increasing incentives for sustainable and animal-friendly farming systems by a further one cent per liter of milk delivered as of July 1. Already more than 40% of our milk volume comes from farms operating at the highest animal welfare bonus level,” explains Managing Director DI Josef Braunshofer.
Farmers not only provide cows with freedom of movement, access to pasture, alpine grazing, or outdoor areas, but also rely on sustainable, locally sourced, GMO-free feed without imports from overseas. In addition, they refrain from using glyphosate and milk replacers and subject their farms to animal health monitoring implemented together with veterinarians. All of this not only improves the well-being of the cows and results in up to 4 cents animal welfare bonus per kilogram of milk, but also contributes to the company’s climate initiative.
Berglandmilch has set itself an emissions reduction target by 2030 in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. This target has been reviewed and confirmed by the international Science Based Targets initiative. By replacing natural gas with biomass and biogas in its dairies, sourcing 100% green electricity, and using environmentally friendly packaging solutions such as reusable glass containers for dairy products, Berglandmilch aims to reduce its operational emissions by at least 40% by 2030.
And Austrian dairy farmers? They already have one of the lowest CO₂ footprints in Europe. Building on this, Berglandmilch farmers further improved their performance in 2024, achieving a carbon footprint well below 1 kg CO₂e per liter of milk—around 25% lower than the European average.
“Anyone who values animal welfare and climate protection when shopping will choose domestic dairy products,” says Chairman Stefan Lindner, a dairy farmer from Oberndorf in Tyrol. He adds: “As a farmer-owned cooperative, sustainable management across generations is important to us. Sustainable milk production and healthy cows are therefore key priorities that we also want to reward. By increasing the animal welfare bonus, we are sending a clear signal to our dairy farmers that animal welfare and sustainability also pay off economically.”
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berglandmilch:
Berglandmilch is Austria’s largest dairy processing and distribution company. The company operates eight sites across five federal states and is wholly owned by more than 8,000 dairy farmers. Berglandmilch markets well-known brands such as Schärdinger, Tirol Milch, Lattella, and Stainzer. Its farmer-based tradition, combined with a holistic approach to quality and the courage to pursue innovative, forward-looking paths, is reflected in a diverse range of products.
Press contact:
Mariam Stadler, M.A.
presse@berglandmilch.at
+43 7476 77311-5646